1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a roll of tape with RFID tag for continuously producing a RFID tag in a tape state capable of wireless communication of information with the outside, a tag tape used for the same, and a cartridge for including at least a RFID tag provided with the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A tape printing apparatus (label producing apparatus) storing a tape to be a print-receiving material in a roll state within a cartridge (cassette) and printing desired characters on it and discharge it in a label shape while feeding out the tape from the roll has been conventionally already proposed (Patent Document 1, for example).
Such prior art is designed to provide a roll wound with a recording tape (print-receiving tape) including an adhesive layer on one side, carry out predetermined print on the print-receiving tape while feeding out the print-receiving tape from this roll, and produce a print label by cutting this to a predetermined length. Also, a separation sheet (separation material) is affixed so as to cover an adhesive layer on one side of the print-receiving tape, and by separating this separation material so as to expose the adhesive layer, the print label can be easily affixed to a target to be affixed.
Patent Publication 1: JP, A, 2002-53248 (FIGS. 1 to 5)
Recently, a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) System for reading/writing information contactlessly between a small-sized tag provided with a RFID circuit element and a reader (reading device)/writer (writing device) has drawn attention. Even if the tag is dirty or disposed at an invisible position, an access (reading/writing of information) from the reader/writer side to the RFID circuit element provided to the tag is possible, and practical applications in various fields such as merchandise control, inspection process and the like are expected.
If information relating to its RFID tag information is printed on a label as with the prior art separately from the tag information stored inside in this type of tag and the tag is used as a RFID label with print, it would be convenient since the related information can be visually checked by users.
As a tape structure for producing this type of tag label, an adhesive layer coated by the separation material is made relatively thick, a RFID circuit element is disposed in the thick adhesive layer so as to form a tag tape, and this tape is wound to produce a roll of tape with RFID tag.
At manufacture of such a roll of tape with RFID tag, from the view of eliminating a waste of the RFID circuit element and preventing cost increase, the adhesive layer of the tag tape produced with a predetermined width in advance is coated by a separation material with the same width while the RFID circuit element is interposed therebetween, and they are wound as a pair in a radial direction in many layers. However, in this case, when the adhesive layer of the tag tape is coated by the separation material, even if they are positioned so that their center positions in the widthwise direction coincide with each other, there is a possibility that the center positions are displaced from each other to some degree due to an accuracy of a device for carrying out the work.
Since the adhesive layer is relatively thick due to the above insertion disposal of the RFID circuit element, when the separation material is bonded to the tag tape side, there is a possibility that the thick adhesive in a large quantity protrudes outward to some degree from the end portions of the tape in the widthwise direction. If the above displacement of the center positions occurs between the tag tape and the separation material in the state where the adhesive protrudes outward from the end portions in the widthwise direction of the tape, a part of the adhesive layer which should have been coated by the separation material (edge portion in the widthwise direction) is not coated by the separation material any more, and as a result, there is a possibility that the adhesives protruding from the edge portion in the widthwise direction as above stick to each other (wrong adhesion between the adhesives) in a layer and another layer adjacent thereto in the radial direction. Also, if the adhesive protrudes from the end portion of the tape in the widthwise direction as above, there is also a possibility that the protruding portion is brought into contact with a side wall surface of a roll disposal portion and sticks thereto (wrong adhesion to the side wall). In the case of occurrence of these phenomena, there is a possibility that the tag tape can not be easily fed out from the roll of tape with RFID tag.
On the other hand, as a tape structure for producing a tag label other than the above, an adhesive layer between the separation material and a print-receiving tape is made relatively thick (it is preferable to make it at least thicker than the thickness of the RFID circuit element in order to maintain its flatness), a tag tape is formed by disposing the RFID circuit element in the thick adhesive layer, and the tape is wound so as to produce a roll of tape with RFID tag.
At manufacture of this type of roll of tape with RFID tag from the view of eliminating a waste of the RFID circuit element and preventing cost increase, such a method is being examined that on one side of a base tape produced with a predetermined width in advance by fixing a RFID circuit element on a tape base layer through an adhesive layer for mounting, a separation layer (=separation tape) with an adhesive (=affixing adhesive) produced with the same width is affixed, and they are wound as a pair in a radial direction in many layers (after the separation layer with an adhesive is affixed to the tape base layer side once, the affixing adhesive adheres to the fixing adhesive side and only the separation material becomes capable of being separated). However, also in this case, when the one side of the base tape is coated by the separation tape as above, even if they are positioned such that their center positions in the widthwise direction coincide with each other as above, there is a possibility that displacement in the center positions occurs to some degree due to the accuracy of the device for carrying out the work.
Here, since the adhesive layer (the adhesive layer for mounting and the adhesive layer for affixing) becomes relatively thick due to the above insertion disposal of the RFID circuit element, when the separation tape is bonded to the base tape side, there is a possibility that the thick adhesive in a large quantity protrudes outward to some degree from the end portions of the tape in the widthwise direction. If the above displacement of the center positions occurs between the base tape and the separation tape in the state where the adhesive protrudes from the tape outward in the widthwise direction, a part of the adhesive layer for mounting which should have been coated by the separation tape (edge portion in the widthwise direction) is not coated by the separation tape any more, and as a result, there is a possibility that the fixing adhesives protruding from the edge portion in the widthwise direction as above stick to each other (wrong adhesion between the adhesives) in a base tape and another base tape adjacent thereto in the radial direction. Also, if the fixing adhesive protrudes from the end portion of the tape in the widthwise direction as above, there is also a possibility that the protruding portion is brought into contact with the side wall surface of the roll disposal portion in the cartridge and sticks thereto (wrong adhesion to the side wall). In the case of occurrence of these phenomena, there is a possibility that the tag tape can not be easily fed out from the roll of tape with RFID tag.
Also, as another method for manufacturing a roll of tape with RFID tag forming a tag tape by disposing a RFID circuit element in such a thick adhesive layer, from the view of the above, such a method is being examined that on one side of a base tape produced with a predetermined width in advance with an adhesive layer for mounting (adhesive layer for mounting) on the base layer, a separation tape made of an adhesive layer for affixing (adhesive layer for affixing) and a separation layer is affixed while the RFID circuit element is interposed, and they are wound as a pair in a radial direction in many layers (after the separation tape is affixed to the base layer once, the adhesive layer for affixing adheres to the adhesive layer for mounting side and only the separation material becomes capable of separation).
In this case, a tag tape in a five-layered bonding structure of a base layer, an adhesive layer for mounting, a RFID circuit element, an adhesive layer for affixing, and a separation layer is completed, and a tag label is produced using it and offered for use. However, since this is a structure that two adhesive layers are interposed in this way, if the adhesive layer for mounting or the adhesive layer for affixing protrudes in the widthwise direction from the base layer or the separation layer, there might be a nonconformity of wrong adhesion of an adhesive to a hand when a user handles the tag tape or the tag label, wrong adhesion to another commodity at affixing, or adhesion of dusts or stains to the protruding adhesive.
Also, when the base tape and the separation tape are to be bonded together as mentioned above, it is being examined that the base tape wound into a base tape roll and the separation tape wound into a separation tape roll are actually bonded together while they are fed out from the respective rolls. At this time, since lamination is made in the order of a base layer, an adhesive layer for mounting, a base layer, an adhesive layer for mounting and the like in the base tape roll, the adhesive layer for mounting would adhere to the surface of the base layer. Thus, it is necessary to separately interpose a tape for preventing this adhesion. Also, in the separation tape roll, lamination is made in the order of an adhesive layer for affixing, a separation layer, an adhesive layer for affixing, a separation layer and the like, and it is necessary to separately interpose a tape for preventing adhesion of the adhesive layer for affixing to the surface of the separation layer as above. There is a need to prepare a tape for preventing adhesion both for the base tape and the separation tape in the rolled state, which makes manufacturing work cumbersome.